Monday Mentors with Austin “Soft” IP Lawyers Wendy Larson and Jered Matthysse

Wendy Larson and Jered Matthysse, "soft" IP lawyers with the Austin firm of Pirkey Barber, join us on today's show. They talk about NFTs, having enthusiasm for your work, and engaging with your law firm partners

Your firm/practice

• Nearly 40 attorneys
• Headquarters in Austin with another office in the Washington, D.C. area
• Firm founded in 2006 based completely on trademark and copyright law, though it has since grown into other areas
  • New announcement soon on a new area...exciting!
• Wendy and Jered have been there over a decade
• Moved into a new office on the East side of Austin/I-35
  • all partner and associate offices are the same size
  • lots of glass to let in light
  • lots of meeting rooms
• Hot topics in IP
  • NFTs (non-fungible tokens)
    • Their clients may want to get into it
    • Or someone might be infringing on their IP by creating NFTs of artwork depicting their products
    • NBA Top Shot
    • Gary Vaynerchuck / VeeFriends
• Before joining the firm 15 years ago, Wendy was concerned that trademark and soft IP law was to niche and that she would be pigeonholing herself. But it is always changing, growing, adapting, and it has made for a fascinating practice area.
• You don't need a hard science background to work in soft IP - Wendy was a psychology major!
  • That said, there are patent lawyers who practice soft IP
• The best laterals usually have a few years of litigation experience, with an expertise in writing
• There are some lawyers who do more counseling/transactional side while others do more of the litigation

COVID update (as of May 13, 2021)

• First few months were one phase
• Phase two, as people got used to it, moved on to using Zoom, etc.
• Some clients have done well/better during the pandemic (grocery, delivery, etc.); others have struggled (restaurants, entertainment)
• Didn't see a big drop in transactional work, but litigation did slow down
• Remote work has certainly taken center-stage; will be with us after the pandemic
  • Opens up talent pool to folks outside of Austin

Advice for lawyers in practice

• Understanding that all partners practice differently; there isn't one right or wrong way to practice
  • So learn how each partner practices
  • Emails? Interactions with clients?
  • Could be 180 degrees different from another partner
• Lou Pirkey is one of the founding members of their firm and is awesome
  • He noticed a gap in the trademark law field (nationally) and suggested that Wendy become an expert in that area
  • It wasn't something she was interested in and she didn't feel quite ready to jump into something like that, but she still remembers that and wonders what might have been had she followed his advice!
  • He also encouraged her to take another lawyer (outside the firm) to lunch every week
• Love what you do; partners notice! If you love it, you are much more likely to do a good job.
• Take initiative; don't make the partner follow up with you all the time.
• Don't make the same mistake multiple times; learn and improve! A mistake is okay, but if it continues to happen that is a bad sign. Makes the partner feel ignored and that they aren't being listened to.
• Don't just take edits from a partner and implement them without thinking; engage with the edits and discuss them with the partner to make sure you are on the same page and there isn't something missing.
  • This doesn't mean you are pushing back on everything, but you are working through the material as a team. So if you disagree with the edit you should say so.
  • Goal is to refine and get to the best product; won't happen if the associate acts like a robot.
  • Definitely depends on the partner since they are all different.

Advice for lawyers looking to lateral

• If the firm is interviewing you, that means they think you can do the work. So they are looking to figure out whether the candidate is a good fit with the firm and the rest of the attorneys.
• They are looking for people who are kind, not mean, want a family life, and are excited about trademark law.
• They want to make partners out of each person they hire, so that impacts the hiring decisions.

Final thoughts

• Wendy made partner in her eighth year, has two kids, sits on the management committee, etc.
  • She is happy
  • She has hobbies
  • She spends time with her family
  • It can be done!
  • But not at every firm, so look around and see how the other lawyers live.
  • Leaders at law firms should take stock and see how their lawyers are doing and make adjustments to make their people's lives better.

Rapid fire questions (Jered / Wendy)

• What trait do you most want to see in an associate: enthusiasm / joy
• What habit has been key to your success: enthusiasm / relationships
• Favorite app/tool: Slack / Slack
• Favorite social distancing activity: Zoom Escape Game / painting from home on Zoom
• Favorite legal movie: The Firm / Legally Blonde

Thanks again to Wendy Larson and Jered Matthysse for coming on the show!